Under the Mistletoe Read Online Free PDF Page B

dump him?” Carlos asked. “Because if you are, I should get to watch. It’d be nice to be on the other side of the fence on that score.”
    “ You dumped me ,” she reminded him.
    “Yes,” he said. “So that you could go live your life.” He looked at Nick. “Not to get hurt.”
    “Carlos,” she said, and knew he heard the warning in her voice because he sighed.
    “Yeah, I know,” he said. Ignoring Nick completely, he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, taking his sweet-ass time about it, too. “Give him hell,” he whispered against her ear. “Neither of us deserves you.”
    And then he was gone.
    She drew in a deep, steady breath and looked at Nick. “So. You want to talk?”
    *  *  *
    “Not here,” Nick said, and pulled Mia to her feet. He knew damn well her uncles hadn’t gone far. Maybe Carlos didn’t intimidate him, but Jax and Sawyer sure as hell did. He wasn’t scared of much, but this—Mia’s family—terrified him. They’d loved her a hell of a lot longer than he had, and he was pretty sure he hadn’t made a great first impression.
    Or a second…
    Mia led him through the inn. There was mistletoe hanging in various spots, and he longed to shove her beneath it and kiss her until she melted against him and remembered that she liked him.
    But since steam was still coming out her ears, he resisted.
    She took him to the kitchen, where Sawyer stood against the counter drinking a coffee. He didn’t express surprise at the sight of Nick all dirty and rumpled from the fight. “Nice right hook,” was all he said.
    Mia let out a sound that managed to perfectly convey her annoyance, probably with the entire male race, then went to the freezer. She grabbed a small bag of frozen peas and brought it up to Nick’s right eye with exactly zero gentleness.
    “Hold it there,” she said tightly when he winced. “You’re swelling.”
    Nick took some heart in the fact that she hadn’t offered Carlos a bag of peas.
    “We’re making a getaway for a few,” she said to Sawyer. “You going to have our backs?”
    “Sure.” Sawyer looked down at her, his eyes softening. “You know where to find me if you need anything.”
    “Come on,” Mia said to Nick, and tugged him outside. They walked across the yard to the marina and into a small building, where she snatched a set of keys off a desk. From inside a closet, she grabbed two life vests and carried them with her.
    Because she didn’t look like she was ready to talk, he followed her to the docks to a rickety old houseboat that had definitely seen better days.
    “It came with the marina,” Mia said. “My dad taught me how to operate it several summers ago.”
    Nick eyed the shabby houseboat and then the dark, choppy water. “It’s December.”
    She glanced over at him, her eyes showing the slightest amusement and also the hint of challenge. “So?”
    “The water looks cold.”
    “Yeah. Don’t fall in,” she said.
    He rubbed his jaw and studied the death trap. “Is this thing seaworthy?”
    “Mostly.”
    What the hell. He boarded behind her, watching as she tossed the life vests down but within reach, and then turned on the engine compartment blower and checked the outdrive and propeller.
    “Untie the mooring lines,” she said, “and FYI? You’re my rear lookout.”
    “My pleasure,” he responded, and checked out her rear.
    She rolled her eyes but let out a low laugh that was music to his ears. “The boat ,” she said. “Make sure we’re clear.” She went inside the houseboat to the controls, leaving the door open so she could hear him as she started the engine. “I’ve got to run this for two minutes at 1500 rpm,” she called to him. “Time me.”
    Two minutes later, he told her “time,” and then was amused when she began barking directions at him like a drill sergeant.
    “This bossiness is a new side of you,” he murmured, entertained. “I like it.”
    “Just keep your eyes on the water. Pulling this bad boy is